Mary Jane Veloso experienced a miracle on her life as she was spared from execution by an Indonesian firing squad shortly after midnight on Wednesday. The Filipina who was on death rwo with eight drug-trafficking convicts from several countries was unexpectedly spared at the last minute.
Although there was no immediate official confirmation that the eight men had been executed, the life of Mary Jane Veloso was spared as part of the Indonesian government’s response to a request from Manila after a drug courier surrendered to authorities in the Philippines on Tuesday.
The Philippines Department of Foreign Affairs through spokesperson Charles Jose confirmed the news as he faced the media at around 2:30 AM on Wednesday, April 29.
The DFA official was quoted as saying “We are relieved that the execution of Mary Jane Veloso was not carried out tonight,” Jose said. “The Lord has answered our prayers.”
The Jakarta Post and the Jakarta Globe reported past 1 a.m. that Veloso was given a last-minute reprieve even as she was scheduled to face death penalty along with eight other inmates after midnight.
During earlier reports, the Indonesian government rejected last-ditch pleas from around the world for clemency to be granted to the convicted traffickers from Nigeria, Australia, Brazil and Indonesia, ordering their mass execution to proceed within hours.
The Filipino Mary Jane Veloso, a mother of two was arrested during the year 2010 after she arrived in Indonesia with 2.6kg of heroin hidden in her suitcase.
The reported delaying of Mary Jane Veloso’s execution caused a celebration for people holding a vigil outside the Indonesian embassy in Manila as they cheered and clapped on hearing the news.
